This study investigates the determinants of applications for U.S. disability benefits between 1986 and 1993 using a semiparametric discrete factor procedure separately for men and women. Approximating a dynamic optimization model, the estimation accounts for a variety of potential biases that...

We investigate what can be learned about the prevalence of work disability using self-reported assessments of work capacity. Although health status is widely recognized as a crucial determinant of labor supply behavior and participation in public transfer programs, there is a long-standing...

We analyze the incidence of ad valorem and unit excise taxes in an oligopolistic industry with differentiated products and price-setting (Bertrand) firms. Both taxes may be passed on to consumers by more than 100 percent, and an increase in the tax rate can increase short run firm profits (and...

We consider the problem of identifying a mean outcome in corrupt sampling where the observed outcome is a mixture of the distribution of interest and some other distribution. We make two contributions to this literature. First, the statistical independence assumption maintained under...

We extend the nonparametric literature on partially identified probability distributions and use our analytical results to provide sharp bounds on the impact of universal health insurance on provider visits and medical expenditures. Our approach accounts for uncertainty about the reliability of...

This paper studies how optimal wage tax conclusions from the classic two-period life-cycle model of human capital accumulation are affected by endogenizing the number of taxpaying workers. In the absence of a corrective policy, young individuals underinvest in human capital from a social...

We analyze the incidence of ad valorem and unit excise taxes in an oligopolistic industry with differentiated products and price-setting (Bertrand) firms. Both taxes may be passed on to consumers by more than 100 percent, and an increase in the tax rate can increase short run firm profits (and...

This paper derives simple closed-form identification regions for the U.S. nonelderly population's prevalence of health insurance coverage in the presence of household reporting errors. The methods extend Horowitz and Manski's (1995) nonparametric analysis of contaminated samples for the case...

Using both direct and indirect information about work limitation, this paper constructs and estimates a simultaneous model of "true" work disability, applications for federal disability benefits, and awards. Potential overreporting of work limitation by applicants is treated as a censored-sample...

This paper provides new evidence about the impact of Social Security Disability Insurance on male labor force participation decisions based on estimates from a structural model of applications, awards, and state-contingent lifetime income flows. The lifetime framework makes it possible to...